Letter of the Week Award
To encourage quality reader intervention The Indian Express offers the Letter of the Week Award. The letter adjudged the best for the week is published every Saturday. Letters may be e-mailed to editpage @expressindia.com or sent to The Indian Express, 9&10, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi -110002.

The good doctor
IN THE hurly burly of elections, one should spare a thought for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the much maligned, ridiculed “accidental PM”. He deserves a kinder, more appreciative mention in the pages of Indian history. It is not the PM’s duty to pat his own back for a job well done. Unfortunately, the Congress party treated him badly and created a mockery of the institution of prime minister, reduced it to a camp office of the Congress headquarters. Singh is an honest and good man who sincerely did what he could during his 10 year tenure. The country was fortunate to have a scholar like him at the helm.— V. SriharshaDelhi

To be continued
THE views of outgoing Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari about the irrelevance of his ministry were appropriately summed up in the headline, ‘Wisdom, a bit too late: I&B minister says don’t need I&B’ (IE, May 14). Coming on the heels of the controversy surrounding the Prasar Bharati CEO’s claims that the ministry interferes excessively in the broadcaster’s functioning, the minister’s views have huge ramifications. His views warrant the serious consideration of the incoming government.— Ashok K. AshuPatiala

THE question raised by Manish Tewari about whether India needs a public broadcaster is very important. It is essential to communicate the policies of the government effectively to the people. But at the same time, this medium should not be misused by the ruling coalition for political gain. The present system of having a public broadcaster does help the government communicate its policies, but it also gives the ruling party an undue advantage. Some fundamental changes to the institutional relationship between Prasar Bharati and the ministry are needed. The answer is to make the public broadcaster directly accountable to Parliament.— Apoorva K.Hyderabad

Heavy lies the head
THIS refers to ‘Uncertain Cong rallies around Rahul’ (IE, May 14). Some Congressmen have been coming out with excuses for their anticipated drubbing in the elections. Kamal Nath and several other top leaders of the party are bending over backward to shield Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi from the blame of losing. The popular refrain is that because Gandhi was not part of the government, he does not need to shoulder the blame if the party loses. But the fact that Gandhi was an unaccountable power unto himself is admission of his reluctance to shoulder higher responsibilities. During the past decade, he seldom spoke in Parliament. He was not seen much in his constituency either. His junking of the “nonsense” ordinance misfired. Whatever Congressmen may say, the blame of losing lies with the Gandhi family, which remote controlled the government.— N. MahadevanMumbai